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Archive for February, 2013

I know the sweetest little bean and Its her 2nd Birthday this week so I wanted to make her a special crafty present, something practical as she lives in a yurt in the woods, and something she can treasure for years to come. I decided a patchwork quilt would be perfect, except I’ve never managed to finish any patchwork I’ve started, and I only had Three days…

I already had some strips of fabric cut so that was a head start, all but one are gorgeous vintage fabrics I’ve collected over the years. I cut them into different sized rectangles all with the same length (22cm) and varying widths.Then this is what I did:

1. Sew the rectangles together into a strip of suitable length, repeat this until you have 5 strips, iron the strips and sew them together

2. Choose a piece of backing fabric and lay the patchwork piece on top, with the right sides touching, pin and cut around it. (I appliqued an initial and some flowers onto the backing fabric first)

3. Sew the two pieces together, as you would a pillowcase, going round all corners but leaving an opening at the bottom

4. Turn inside out, measure the right size piece wadding and put it inside. Pin around the edge to secure it in place and pin the opening flap together, turning it back on itself to create a neat edge

5. Sew all around the edge of the quilt, then sew down the lengths of the strips. Next across to create squares, and then diamonds.

Et Voila! easier than I thought, a manageable size for a first quilt and the perfect gift for a kiddo. Now I feel ready to tackle a larger one with proper edging techniques!

As you may well know, I have a love of all things Scandinavian and have wanted to visit for a long time, if only to confirm my love, like visiting a soul mate pen-pal for the first time in real life . Originally I had dreams of an epic journey across Norway and Sweden, however due to the fact that everything is double the price we settled for a four-day city break in Oslo.

Little red house

As soon as we flew over the silver birch coloured landscape my love was cemented, the train journey from the airport through the country filled my heart even more with each little red and yellow wooden house that slipped past and I began daydreaming about re-locating.

We had a wonderful time exploring the city, bitter air biting at our bones and blushing our noses, stopping in cosy coffee shops and stylish bars… in fact it’s true, It’s all so very stylish. My rose tinted vision from blogs and pinterest boards was confirmed – White washed and grey palettes with accents of colour (mostly, my favorite, yellow), sheepskins and throws, log piles, wooden furniture with that effortlessly cool curve, candles (even in the daytime) and sleek light fittings. Staying in what could only be described as My Dream Home only added to the joy of it all. And this is a city remember, I imagine things would get more idyllic for me in the country. One of the great things about Oslo in fact is that its only a 20 min journey on the metro and you’re in nature, pine tree forests and ski runs, the wholesome red cheeks of the inhabitants clutching ski’s on the bus says it all.

Our apartment for the weekend

Cafe Laundromat

We took the metro up to the 2km toboggan run – Korketrekkeren (The cork screw!) and sledged down a few times stopping for a hot chocolate and giant apple pie in front of a huge log fire in an enchanting log cabin restaraunt at Frognerseteren. Perfect.